


How It Was and How It Is

by Bohemian_Red



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Content Warnings before some chapters, Drama, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, LGBT characters, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Post-Volume 3 (RWBY), Rating May Change, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22537171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bohemian_Red/pseuds/Bohemian_Red
Summary: Team SHLD (shield) was once the pride of Shade Academy. They were Vytal Festival champions on top of their many other accomplishments. Team SHLD could have made names for themselves as being the best among the best. But that's all in the past.After the Fall of Beacon, Hayley has been forced to return to Vacuo and reunite with Sierra and Leanna. Over a decade since SHLD officially broke up, fate has brought them back together and send them off on what could be one last mission. Along the way, they will be forced to confront each other, forces previously unknown, and the harsh realities of the past, present, and future.
Relationships: OC/OC
Kudos: 1





	How It Was and How It Is

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I'm BohemianRed, but everybody calls me Bo.  
> This is my first ever fanfic and it has been almost 2 years in the making. I first got inspired to create my own OC team from watching V5 while working the graveyard shift at a grocery store. My ideas have been underdeveloped for some time, but I figured that enough was enough and here we are!
> 
> As mentioned in the tags, I'm writing this as I go. So there may be cases of early installment weirdness, pacing, etc. at the start, but I hope that time and experience will iron things out as we go along. I also have no set schedule for this fic. Mainly because I don't want to stress myself out with deadlines (after all, that's what uni's for!). I'd say that it's better to let ideas grow naturally than to churn out mediocre chapters at regular intervals. Case in point: this chapter has been the product of 3 weeks of on again/off again planning.
> 
> But enough of that. Let's get on with the story...

She assessed the security guards quickly.

The two of them were walking towards her cheap, just-tolerable seat. One bulky, balding, and probably trying to compensate his hair loss with a thick moustache. The other was skinnier, clean-shaven, and younger than his partner. But their physical appearances didn’t matter right now, their gear did.

 _“Standard security tools,”_ she thought to herself. It always went like this whenever she got hyper focused on a mark. Time seemingly froze around her. Everything that wasn’t the main focus of attention was pushed to the wayside.

_“Taser guns, flashlights, handheld radios (response time unknown), extendable batons (easy to hide, won’t draw attention to belts right away), handcuffs… the mace seems odd though. Could be back up if the taser fails…?”_

The guards had gotten closer in the meantime. Eyeing them so keenly could tip her off right away and lead to a confrontation. Fight or flight kicked in. Stand her ground or hide away?

Flight won out. She didn’t have the means to take the guards on and even if she did, this wasn’t the ideal environment. Too many eyes around them, especially since the port had been busier in recent weeks. So much so that it had made the evening news due to staff reportedly being overwhelmed by the volume. Causing a scene would attract unwanted spectators, more security showing up, and the building getting put on lock-down. Evasion was the best option. Her semblance definitely thought so. But there was something else. Something off. Something that she had mentally set aside that was beginning to force its way back into the foreground. It kept her from getting up and giving her pursuers the slip. It reminded her that these weren’t her pursuers, or anybody else’s. They weren’t onto her because she didn’t look out of place or suspicious.

She was supposed to be here. She had the right to be here. This wasn’t a job like back in the days before Shade when she would have gotten chased out by shop-keeps with brooms. Neither was this like her time in Shade when they had to take down up-and-coming crime bosses and their rackets. This wasn’t an old adventure of the past, this was just old habits overreacting out of boredom.

That was it. Boredom. She had been waiting for over an hour, possibly nearing two hours by now. There wasn’t much to do in a Bullhead port. The knick-knacks in the souvenir shops were overpriced and tacky, the fast food joints were overpriced and greasy, the main atrium had a decent-enough looking statue on display that was definitely overpriced. But gawking at how much one was expected to shell out for a chocolate bar could only kill so much time. That was when her mind had wandered to people-watching. And what began as simply eyeing others in her vicinity turned into spying for marks and led to her sizing up the security guards.

“Got yourself in too deep Sierra,” the woman quietly chuckled to herself despite not finding any humour in it, “It’s not like that anymore.” True. It hadn’t been like that in years, she wasn’t the girl from back then. Things had changed greatly during her academy years. Now she was older.

 _Old._ That was a word that had been troubling Sierra for a while. It wasn’t that she was “old”, no matter how much the kids would tease when her scroll was acting up. And neither was Leanna. However, even if full blown retirement was out of the question, the idea of slowing down a bit still held merit. They couldn’t race around and be everywhere at once like back then. the days of playing it fast and loose were coming to a close, if they hadn’t already. _“We need a plan. Any plan!”_ Sierra thought, for herself and Leanna. Then it hit her. Something else she hadn’t been thinking about while scoping the security. Sierra looked down the aisle to her right, then to the seat to her left, the rows of seats in front of her, and the rows behind her.

_Where was Leanna? She had just been there a minute ago!_

“Welcome back to Remnant space cadet.” Sierra snapped her head towards the voice. It came from the tan skinned woman whose absence had previously been noted. Leanna stood in the middle of the seating row, arms crossed over her black jacket and light grey shirt, and a smirk that gave away how satisfied she was with that line. “I went to the washroom five minutes ago. You looked out of it so I figured you wouldn’t have noticed.”

Sierra gave a look of good humour, “I noticed… eventually.” The expression gave way quickly. It did take her too long to notice something so obvious. Leanna took a seat next to the other woman. She adjusted her long black and silver braid over her shoulder rather than having it pinned between her back and the thinly cushioned seat. After smoothing out her simple green skirt, Leanna turned to look at Sierra, concern marking her face at what – and how - it was said. Her grey eyes scanned the other woman, Sierra’s hands hidden away in the pockets of her thin, earthly brown jacket and how her similarly coloured eyes took interest in her faded blue jeans and worn out runners. Something was definitely up.

“What’s wrong?” Leanna asked as she draped her arm over Sierra’s shoulders. A small gesture of comfort to try and ease whatever was causing the other woman tension. Sierra let out a sigh. Truthfully, this had been an issue that was gnawing at her for some time. It was originally kept silent in the hopes that it would go away on its own. Sierra soon realized that it was a pressing matter that couldn’t be ignored anymore. Thoughts of it were constantly renewed by the sight of the brace fastened over Leanna’s left knee. It was a reality that neither of them could run from anymore.

But now wasn’t the time for that discussion. There were other things to worry about, such as the reason they were here to begin with. That ought to be a good enough cover. It was quite serious after all.

“I’m just worried for Hayley. It was a miracle that she was able to catch a flight out of Vale so soon. With what had happened at the Vytal Festival…” Sierra trailed off. Leanna looked downwards with her lips pressed together, formulating a response to what had just been said. The aftermath of the Fall of Beacon (the media did an excellent job driving that name into everybody’s heads) was still being felt months later. The two women – and the entirety of Remnant – had seen the events unfold on live television. They were barely able to process what had occurred when they received urgent calls from the Vacuan Council. Grimm activity outside the city had spiked suddenly and all available boots needed to be at the ready. The remainder of that evening and much of that night was spent holding against the dark creatures while their eldest looked after his siblings.

The number of Grimm hordes had gone down since then, but it was still considered abnormally high. And “abnormally high” meant more work to be done outside the city walls. Only now were Sierra and Leanna able to catch their breaths and not deal with the constant dings of their scrolls informing them of another extermination mission here or of an evacuation there.

“Sierra, sweetheart” Leanna finally spoke. Her tone was soft as she removed her arm from her wife’s shoulders and gently stroked Sierra’s cheek. “I understand. It’s been a long while since we last saw Hayley in person and these aren’t ideal circumstances for a reunion, but all that matters for the moment is that she and Lorraine are safe. At any moment they’ll be coming out of that gate and be far away from any dangers in Vale. Besides, Hayley’s always been a tough one. If it were necessary, she’d make the whole journey on foot! It’s scary how much weight she could carry in one pack.”

That was true. Hayley in her prime was able to put most Atlasean soldiers – and, allegedly, a few Specialists – to shame with her sheer stamina. So, the idea of her trekking cross-continent with a backpack twice or thrice her weight today wasn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility.

Sierra sighed, then gave a small smile in appreciation for her wife’s comfort. Sometimes it was hard to believe how much Leanna had grown since their early Shade days. How she was no longer that person. All of SHLD had changed by graduation and after. For better or for worse. Further thoughts were cut off by the tone of the intercom.

“Flight N-712, Vale to Vacuo, is now disembarking. All passengers will be exiting via Gate 4. Again, flight N-712 is disembarking via Gate 4.”

“That’ll be them.” Sierra declared. Leanna quickly gave Sierra a peck on the forehead and a reassuring smile. Everything was going to be alright. They would host Hayley and Lorraine until they settled in and found a place of their own, work on the easing the uptick in Grimm, and continue to keep the peace in the city. Life would go back to normal in no time. “Or we adjust to a new normal.” Sierra thought to herself. She would need to discuss her worries with Leanna once everything had calmed down enough.

“Better give them a good welcome, eh?” Leanna asked rhetorically. She got up and headed towards Gate 4 where a crowd was already forming in anticipation for the passengers. Sierra followed from behind. They passed two security guards who eyed them warily as they neared the edge of the crowd. Neither were keen on crowds, too much potential for trouble breaking out. The younger one’s hand drifted towards his radio, ready to call back up. Or a lock down if things got too ugly.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just starting off, so forgive the short chapter. I hope to write in longer form as this story continues.
> 
> If you like what you read, kudos and constructive comments are appreciated.


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